The Kentucky football team officially reports for the 2011 season Thursday afternoon at the Nutter Training Facility. Defensive players have their first meeting at 3:15 p.m. and offensive players meet at 3:45 p.m. The players will also be fitted for equipment before their first day of practice on Friday.As we get ready to dive into another football season, here are five questions the UK football team will have to answer over the course of fall camp.1. Can UK take the next step? Head coach Joker Phillips has made it no secret that the theme of this year’s team is “Rise.” Phillips wants his players to rise to the occasion and for his team to rise in the Southeastern Conference standings.Are his goals realistic though?As always, the SEC is going to be super difficult to navigate through. For the second straight year, the SEC West is stacked with talent. Alabama and LSU are preseason national title contenders, and Auburn, last year’s national champion, is expected to finish fifth in college football’s toughest division.The East looks to be remarkably improved after a down year in 2010. Building off an SEC East championship, South Carolina returns starting quarterback Stephan Garcia, running back Marcus Lattimore and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. Georgia should be improved and the chances of Florida staying down are very, very slim.So what does that mean for a Kentucky team that loses its starting quarterback, running back and top two wide receivers? Can the Wildcats really take a step forward when everyone else has improved so much and they’ve lost so much offensive firepower?    That is Phillips’ challenge to his players this year. He’s calling on his defense to be the strength of the team, his offensive line to carry a young and inexperienced offense, and his young players to step up and fill the voids of lost veterans.If Kentucky is going to rise in 2011, unexpected heroes are going to have to step up.2. Is Newton ready to the lead the team? Morgan Newton has been tabbed as the next great Kentucky quarterback ever since UK signed him out of Carmel, Ind.Newton showed promise his freshman season, leading UK to wins at Georgia and Auburn, but he failed to beat out Mike Hartline for the job last year and looked rusty in the BBVA Compass Bowl game. Now in his junior season, is Newton ready to lead the UK offense?If you ask his teammates and coaches, the answer is yes. Offseason accounts indicate Newton has taken a major leap forward with his work ethic and leadership. He’s organized offseason workouts, held his teammates accountable and he’s reportedly throwing the ball as well as he ever has.It sounds like a transformation similar to what Andre’ Woodson experienced before his breakthrough season in 2006. But if that’s true, that leads us to our next question.3. Who is Newton going to throw to? If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to come to grips with the fact that Randall Cobb isn’t walking through that door anymore. Neither is Chris Matthews.  If you count pass-catching tailback Derrick Locke and a couple of other minor losses, UK lost 196 of its 298 catches last year, including 1,942 yards and 16 touchdowns from Cobb and Matthews. Folks, that’s a lot of production.Returning for UK will be senior Matt Roark, junior La’Rod King and sophomore Brian Adams. King, who caught 36 balls for 478 yards and five touchdowns last year, has the talent to be a No. 1 wide receiver, while Adams is blessed with elite speed and athleticism. One guy no one is talking about is junior Gene McCaskill, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. McCaskill is actually the second-most experienced of the returners with 32 career catches, plus he has the skills to play the outside or slide inside to the slot position. Phillips has raved about his incoming freshman receiving class because they are natural wide receivers who can make an immediate impact. The only question out of that group is who will emerge out of the gates?Newton will also have five tight ends returning with experience to lean on early in the season. Maybe the position isn’t in such dire shape after all. It just has a lot of questions and possibilities.

4. Can Sanders carry the load at tailback? There are no questions about Raymond Sanders’ natural ability. The diminutive tailback displayed his ability to slash and squeeze between tight holes for 254 rushing yards on 68 carries.But is Sanders capable of carrying the load and being an every-down back? At 5-foot-8, 205 pounds, that could prove to be difficult in the SEC marathon.  If he can’t, sophomore Jonathan George and junior CoShik Williams will be called into action. George only got nine carries as a freshman while Williams, a former walk-on, totaled 136 yards and four scores on 24 rushes as a sophomore. Highly touted tailback Brandon Gainer redshirted last season and could move up the depth chart pretty quickly, but keep an eye on incoming freshmen Marcus Caffey and Josh Clemons, two of the gems of the 2011 signing class. Both Caffey and Clemmons possess a nice mix of speed and power, and the bet here is that one of them becomes a significant contributor this season.5. How will Kentucky adjust to Minter’s new defensive schemes? At this point, we’ve all heard about co-defensive coordinator Rick Minter’s new schemes. Whether it’s a 3-4, 4-3 or 4-2-5 set is hardly the question anymore. Now it’s about how the players will adjust to the system.As you’d expect, the players and coaches are saying all the right things. Winston Guy, Ridge Wilson and Martavius Neloms say they love their position changes. Minter keeps stressing the emphasis on speed. And Phillips is raving about forcing more turnovers.But for a defense that returns its top 11 tacklers, will they be able to make the adjustment from their old defensive principles to the new schemes? At the end of the day, tackling is tackling and defense is defense. Based on all accounts, while the terminology and schemes are different, the change was just as much about attitude and passion.If you don’t believe that, remember that Minter got the job just a couple of weeks before Kentucky’s bowl game in Birmingham, Ala. While it didn’t get off to a rousing start, the players had a chance to get an early taste of the system and adapt to it.After a full set of spring practices and an offseason film session that has included voiceovers from Minter, the players have had plenty of opportunities and time to adjust. It’s up to them to make the necessary changes.